Roller conveyors which are used in factories, warehouses, and other places for moving objects, typically comprise a pair of parallel frame members or rails and a large number of parallel, elongated, rotatable rollers that extend across the space between the rails. Objects to be moved are placed upon the rollers and if the roller conveyor is tipped slightly relative to the horizontal, the weight of the object to be moved results in the object moving along the length of the conveyor as the rollers rotate. In some instances, power means may be provided to assist the force of gravity in moving the object upon the roller conveyor.
In many places, particularly where a conveyor is sufficiently pitched or angled relative to the horizontal to cause the conveyed object to move rapidly along its length, it is desirable to provide braking means to retard or to gradually stop the movement of the object along the conveyor. For that purpose, it is desirable to provide a braking means which controllably slows the rotation of selected rollers in a roller conveyor to resist the gravity-assisted free movement of the objects moved upon the conveyor.
Since roller conveyors are ordinarily simple mechanisms, requiring little maintenance and are generally regarded as inexpensive items of equipment, it is important that any mechanism used with such conveyors for retarding the speed of movement of conveyed objects be relatively simple in construction, inexpensive and essentially trouble-free.
The invention herein relates to rollers embodying brake mechanisms, which rollers may be used in roller conveyors for retarding the speed of rotation of the braked rollers. Such rollers, thereby, by their frictional engagement with the conveyed objects, slow the movement of such objects to desired rates.